Preserving those ration cans

[SOT]

C ration, next to a real WWII one:

Reduced: 64% of original size [ 800 x 512 ] - Click to view full image

 

 

 

 

...wow................ Seeing the opened up original C-ration can in another thread brought something to mind.

 

Those who collect original rations, WWII, Korea, or Vietnam know the problems that come with a can that is ripe beyond its years. How to open it without damaging the finish? Instead of using a P-38 along the bottom, where you can still see the ratchet marks, go online to www.pamperedchef.com It is a company over here in the states, but I am sure they ship everywhere. Go to the "shop online" section and in the SEARCH bar type in can opener. What you want to find is the Smooth-Edge Can Opener, which retails for $21.00. There is a picture of it in use. My fiancee got one at one of these "home shows", but I have pinched it on occasion. It is really cool, for it has rubber or silicon gripping surfaces, and locks on the rim and cuts along the rolled rim so that you can lift the entire rim off. Do it on the bottom, and you reduce the height by maybe 2 mm! Clean the can out, dry, treat the cut edges with a clear coat and no one is the wiser, and you have a displayable item that has no weight, and no curdling masses inside. You could super-glue the rim back on as well. Save those Ham n Lima cans!

This just came to me as I was perusing anoyher thread, so I have no images to put up, but there is one in the "catalog," and it is one of those odd little items which can be very handy for the ration collector who worries about those precious containers and grimaces at the thought of how to open them.

 

"To save the cans, we had to open the cans..." Hope this may help someone.

[SOT]

...could not get the photo transferred, but it can be found in the Reenactment and Repro Gear section, on page 8 of the thread "Show some imagination.....please!"

[Golem]

You can get them a lot cheaper from Amazon > Safe edge can opener - Amazon

 

 

These are called "safe edge" or "smooth edge" can openers and they literally uncrimp the lid from the can (basically reversing what the plant did when it capped the can). The different models can look different, but they all work on the same principle

 

As an aside, these work great for pet food cans (just put the lid back on) or making cans for shipping use. You can also make "security cans" to hide stuff (just make sure you glue some tire weights inside to approximate the weight and balance of a full can)

[uplandmod]

YES, that is how I opened up all my "wet" food ration cans, 60 year old peach jam was one of the worst smells ever!

 

Leonardo

[Alonzo]

I just opened up an apple sauce can this evening...smell was not too bad, the stuff inside looked like what comes off our sludge dewatering press at the sewage treatment plant...only a bit darker.

[Recon 369]

The same type can opener as in video, at Wal-Mart about 9 dollars, Good Cook Brand. If you open the bottom of the can dump the old wet stuff out clean and fill with some inert stuff for weight then using a clear 2 part epoxy apply to can rim then using a small craft paint brush apply some to the lid rim, put lid back on the can apply slight pressure and wipe off any glue that seaps out, place some type of weight to hold lid in place until glue sets 12 - 24 hours. If you are into precision you can use a Sharpie to put a small dot on the rim prior to removal. You can then replace the lid in the exact postion as originally located.